The night wind blew fiercely. The two stood facing each other in a dead silence.
Chi Xiyan truly never expected this person to be right here. In his personal dictionary, the word “escape” had never existed, yet at this moment, he unexpectedly developed a rare urge to flee.
The other party spoke first, “Why come here?” The sword in his hand was already poised and ready for action.
Chi Xiyan could not figure out what the man was getting at, and since he was never one to shy away from trouble, he stated bluntly, “I’m too broke. Just picking up some things.”
An expression of slight astonishment flickered across the man’s otherwise unchanging features, as though he hadn’t expected Chi Xiyan to confess so candidly to looting corpses for items. He hesitated and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”
“I’m terrified, but…” Chi Xiyan stood within the shadows, where the opposite person could not clearly see his face and thus remained unaware that he lacked even a shred of fear. With a playful tone, he remarked, “Even a hero can be stumped by a penny.”
Just at that moment, the man’s figure flashed directly in front of him. Realizing that the other was about to attack, Chi Xiyan’s body twitched slightly, preparing to dodge, while his mind raced at lightning speed: if this person had wanted to kill him, he would have done so long ago; there was no way he would suddenly take his life without rhyme or reason.
This was a test.
Chi Xiyan halted his movement, standing rigidly in place. If he had been a true mortal, he surely would not have been able to react in time to the opponent’s speed.
Without blinking, he took in every detail of the man approaching him, allowing the sword to press close to his neck. The neck was the most vulnerable part of the body; a single misstep would cost him his life, yet he felt not a fraction of fear.
He merely forced his body—which had instinctively wanted to lean backward to stand straight, causing his frame to tremble slightly, making it look as though he was shaking with terror.
Chi Xiyan stood still, lowering his gaze to avoid looking at the other person. Eyes were the windows to the soul, and he wasn’t confident that he could keep from looking at the man with a provocative glint.
The man withdrew his sword, truly having no intention of taking his life. If Chi Xiyan had actually dodged just then, all his efforts would have been in vain.
“Hand,” the man said abruptly.
Not knowing what the man intended to do and feeling a bit curious, Chi Xiyan held out his hand to see what tricks this person would play.
To his surprise, the man tossed a bulging silk pouch directly into his hand. It felt quite heavy, and the items inside emitted a crisp, gentle clinking sound as they collided.
Inside were copper coins.
“Do not dig up graves,” the man stated flatly.
Chi Xiyan clutched the pouch. Its pattern was simple yet embroidered with gold threads; this man casually handed a complete stranger so many copper coins he could only be described as a fool with more money than sense.
Yet what he needed were spirit stones, not this pile of useless copper coins.
“It can only help you for a moment,” the man added, “Self-reliance is the proper path.”
Chi Xiyan fell silent. For people like them, doing absolutely nothing at all probably counted as the proper path.
Since the man refused to budge from the spot, it was clear that Chi Xiyan’s trip today had indeed returned empty-handed.
Feeling rather depressed, he cradled the silk pouch and returned to the village. What use were these copper coins anyway? He glanced around his surroundings and spotted the very inn that the demon had entered yesterday.
Although he didn’t strictly need sleep, proper rest was necessary, and he hadn’t rested well over the past few days.
He headed straight to the inn, placed the copper coins before the innkeeper, and declared, “I want a heaven-grade room.”
No matter who loses out, one should never shortchange oneself.
With that single transaction, a major portion of the copper coins in the pouch vanished.
He went upstairs to rest. Not long after, the sound of a door opening echoed from next door as a new guest checked in.
The next morning, just as Chi Xiyan opened his door intending to leave, a neighboring door creaked open, and footsteps stepped out.
He cast a casual glance over, only to realize that the person was none other than yesterday’s passerby. At that moment, the two of them stared blankly at one another.
What a coincidence.
The man glanced briefly at the room Chi Xiyan had just stepped out of.
Penniless, yet extravagant?
Chi Xiyan showed no outward expression on his face, though internally he felt the awkwardness of being caught red-handed.
Ignoring the person behind him, he turned and headed straight downstairs.
Recalling these past events from his mind, Chi Xiyan found the memory rather novel as he reminisced.
He secretly cracked open one eye to peek at the person by the bedside and, unsurprisingly, got caught in the act.
“What’s wrong?” Beisi asked, “Can’t sleep?”
The eyes of the person before him were as captivating as ever. Chi Xiyan felt that such eyes deserved to be cherished, but they had to be alive—only eyes like these possessed such brilliant, arresting radiance.
He asked, “Do you still remember the third time we met?”
Beisi nodded with a smile, then added, “My memory is exceptionally good, especially when it comes to matters concerning you.”
Caught completely off guard by this smooth flirtation, the tips of Chi Xiyan’s eyes flushed slightly red. He wanted to ask what the other person had been thinking back then, but found it somewhat difficult to voice the question. What if he didn’t like the answer? To his own surprise, he could actually be so coy.
Sensing his inner thoughts, Beisi said, “Running into you again was a bit unexpected. I suppose I was probably thinking that you might be facing some kind of hardship.”
Chi Xiyan had simply wanted to treat himself a bit better. Was this what they called “not understanding, but respecting”? He pondered that this fellow really was quite a fool.
By the time he processed it, the words “you fool” had already slipped past his lips.
Beisi couldn’t help but chuckle, “Now, don’t you have me to worry over your finances?”
He paused, fixed his gaze once more on Chi Xiyan, and spoke up, “Besides, all my wealth belongs exclusively to my cultivation partner.”
The subtext was crystal clear to Chi Xiyan. Unable to withstand the intensity of the man’s gaze, he rolled over onto his side and hurried to say, “Alright, alright, I’m sleepy.”
The man behind him pressed close, two warm bodies mutually transmitting warmth to one another.
With a curving smile on his lips, Chi Xiyan closed his eyes as the other wrapped his arms securely around his waist.
The morning sunlight was bright and clear, streaming through the window and leaving behind a brilliant expanse of radiance.
When Chi Xiyan opened his eyes, there was no one beside him. Pushing open the room door, he saw Shi Junyan standing not far away, burying his head and not daring to look up at Beisi standing opposite him the picture of someone who had a guilty conscience.
Shi Junyan furtively peeked toward the room Chi Xiyan was in, and the moment he saw him emerge, he bolted over, hiding behind Chi Xiyan’s back like a frightened quail.
Beisi turned his gaze over. The instant his eyes met Chi Xiyan’s, his expression softened instantly; but the moment he looked back at Shi Junyan, his gaze hardened again as he commanded, “Come out.”
“I was wrong, I was wrong.” Shi Junyan cowered behind Chi Xiyan, but given his strapping build, blocking one part meant exposing another no matter how he tried. He kept pleading, “I really know I was wrong, I won’t dare do it next time.”
For such a robust, muscular man to put on this kind of pitiful display was both pathetic and laughable.
Beisi remained completely unmoved by his words.
“Sister-in-law, save me!” Shi Junyan had no choice but to turn and beg Chi Xiyan for help.
“What happened?” Chi Xiyan wasn’t kind-hearted enough to plead for this person, but he was curious to hear what kind of trouble Shi Junyan had caused to displease Beisi. He was firmly on Beisi’s side anyway.
Shi Junyan, however, was overjoyed, assuming this meant his “brother-in-law” was going to speak up for him. What a wonderful brother-in-law!
“He dismantled some parts of the ship.” Beisi shot Shi Junyan a meaningful look.
Hearing this, Chi Xiyan looked at Shi Junyan, who hurriedly pleaded, “Sister-in-law, please put in a good word for me! He’s really going to beat me to death. Surely you can’t bear to see someone as handsome and dashing as me meet an untimely demise…”
He sounded truly miserable.
Chi Xiyan raised an eyebrow and asked, “How did you find out?”
Too embarrassed to speak plainly, Shi Junyan muttered, “I only looked guilty, but he’s too cunning he actually tricked a confession out of me! These little things won’t cause any trouble anyway… Sister-in-law is the best, you have to protect me…”
Any port in a storm; Shi Junyan switched allegiance on the spot.
“Beisi,” Chi Xiyan said.
Shi Junyan’s eyes lit up.
Glancing at Shi Junyan’s brimming anticipation, Chi Xiyan simply said, “I’m still a bit sleepy.”
Shi Junyan was dumbfounded: “Huh?”
Chi Xiyan had no intention of interfering. He took a step forward, genuinely intending to return to his room.
Shi Junyan stretched out a hand, attempting to grab Chi Xiyan’s sleeve to make him change his mind. Before his fingers even touched the fabric, he felt a chilling glare hit him, freezing his hand instantly in place, too terrified to move a muscle.
“Go back first,” Beisi said gently to Chi Xiyan, his tone shifting like night and day compared to just a moment ago.
Realizing he truly had no backup left, Shi Junyan still stubbornly and quietly defended himself in a tiny voice, “Even if there’s a malfunction, nothing bad will happen.”
Beisi replied, “This time is different.”
The reason it was different was because of Chi Xiyan; he wasn’t willing to let even the slightest accident occur.
“How could we possibly be that unlucky?” Shi Junyan muttered under his breath.
Chi Xiyan found the scene somewhat amusing, but suddenly sensed an unfamiliar, menacing aura closing in. Glancing toward the bow of the ship, he spotted several tiny black dots in the distance rapidly enlarging as they hurtled directly toward them. The newcomers meant business.
“Beisi, there are people coming from behind,” Chi Xiyan warned. This wave of people was clearly gunning for them.
Without a trace of surprise on his face, Beisi turned to look at the approaching figures in the distance.
The leader was seated atop a black mount possessing three heads and six wings. Its heads resembled those of serpents, its body was like that of a lion covered in fur, and as it flew in rage, its wings spanned out like clouds covering the sky.
It was a Three-Headed Winged Lion!
Its body was countless times larger than the ship, blotting out the sun so that not a sliver of light reached the deck. Each of its heads was as large as the entire hull of the ship; a single bite would tear the vessel into pieces, leaving not even wreckage behind.
Without needing to guess, it was obvious that Yu Fengyao had lodged a complaint and called for reinforcements.
The leader possessed a full head of white hair, and his beard fluttering in the air was similarly white he was quite advanced in years. Gripping the fur of the Three-Headed Winged Lion with one hand, his torso held rigidly upright, he radiated vigor. His turbid, aged eyes looked down condescendingly at the three individuals below.
An elderly, resonant voice rang out, “So you are the ones who harmed my precious grand-nephew?”
Beisi stared right back up at him. Despite standing below, his imposing aura suppressed the old man by a notch as he stated, “We did not inflict those injuries.”
“To think the cultivation world has actually produced people like you who spout lies without blinking,” the old man scoffed.
This old codger clearly felt he was living too long. Chi Xiyan narrowed his eyes and sneered, “She simply reaped what she sowed.”
They hadn’t laid a single finger on Yu Fengyao to harm her; on the contrary, she had suffered severe backlash from the array entirely on her own without them making a single move.
“Lacking in skill yet calling upon elders from your sect shameless.” Shi Junyan made a face at the old man, completely shedding the cowardice he had shown just moments before. “You outnumber us and still can’t win; your sect has truly gone to ruin!”
Chi Xiyan glanced sideways at the swaggering Shi Junyan. His strength might not be much, but his nerve was enormous he possessed a remarkable lack of fear of death.
“You!” The old man’s composed demeanor cracked instantly, nearly blowing his beard in rage. He stroked his mustache to steady his emotions.
“Old goat!” Shi Junyan taunted.